In this article I will look at the best breeds of rescue dogs. I will tell you about the size and nature of each of the breeds, in what emergency situations they found their application.
Dogs - best friends, they protect territories, become companions to lonely people, and save lives.
Best Rescue Dog Breeds
Breeds of rescue dogs were bred specifically for search purposes and to protect people in extreme situations or natural disasters. Quadrupeds cope with assigned tasks faster, thanks to their sensitive sense of smell. The dog senses a person in trouble under a large thickness of snow, debris from natural disasters, and is rescued from the water. Let's take a closer look at the different breeds of rescue dogs.
Labrador
Large in size, height at the withers is 53-61 cm, weight 25-36 kg. They are friendly, playful, patient, reliable, require constant attention from the owner, and are easy to train. Not suitable for security, suitable for people with in an active way life.
Labrador retrievers are trained in game form, they do all the exercises with pleasure.
The price of a puppy of this breed will be 20,000 – 40,000 rubles.
Retrievers are often involved in water rescue operations; their swimming speed is 5 km/h. They help rescue people from rubble after explosions, earthquakes, floods and other accidents. Can be used as guide dogs for people with disabilities. To help during disasters, special training and training is required: from simple obedience commands to acting out disaster scenarios.
Large in size, height at the withers is 66-71 cm, weight reaches 70 kg. Newfoundlands are patient, calm, obedient, loyal, easy to train, and suitable for families with children. Phlegmatic by nature, not prone to movement, but happy to go for a walk with the owner.
They are sensitive to comments, criticism and harshness of the owner, train them with affection, then the process will be more effective.
The price for a puppy of this breed will be 40,000 – 75,000 rubles.
They are used to rescue people on the water; it is not for nothing that they are called “divers”; they are distinguished by their friendliness, intelligence, and endurance. The Newfoundland does not freeze in water and is resistant to cold thanks to its water-repellent double coat. The animal has a special structure of ears, eyes, third eyelid, membranes between the fingers, which helps it swim long distances and dive deep under water. The survival instinct is inherent in nature; they rush into the water at the first sign of a person drowning.
Large in size, height at the withers 61-70 cm, weight 50-91 kg. They are distinguished by endurance, fearlessness, diligence and good learning ability. Saint Bernards are calm, kind, loyal, non-aggressive, have good physical strength, do not like loneliness. Families who do not have time to spend with a pet and are good with children and look after them should not get one.
The price for a puppy of this breed will be 15,000 – 45,000 rubles.
Most often used to rescue people in the mountains, in avalanches and in water. Scientists have found that representatives of this breed sense a snowstorm 40 minutes before it begins. At a great distance they can smell people under thick snow, they can single-handedly dig a way to them, pull them to the surface and bring them to their senses.
Large in size, height at the withers 55-65 cm, body weight 22-40 kg. balanced, confident, has a good disposition, attentive, obedient, and has protective qualities. Suitable for people with a strong character; the animal requires constant physical activity, training and socialization are required.
The price of a German puppy will be 20,000 – 50,000 rubles.
Helping people is in the German Shepherd's blood; they are used to save people in the mountains, under landslides, earthquakes and explosions, and in reservoirs. Thanks to its instincts, the shepherd quickly finds the victims and pulls them out.
A large dog with well-developed muscles, height at the withers is 63-72 cm, body weight is 32-45 kg. intelligent, vigilant, obedient, self-confident, energetic, fearless, loyal, dexterous and resilient. They have a quick reaction and speed of completing tasks, while another dog is busy with one exercise, the Doberman will do five.
The price of a Doberman puppy will be 15,000 – 45,000 rubles.
Suitable for a self-confident owner with a strong character and an active lifestyle, who gets along well with children. This breed requires socialization and proper training; without this, it can grow up angry and unbalanced.
A keen sense of smell helps the Doberman to find people in extreme situations and pull them out of the rubble. This breed can be a guide to the blind.
German large breed of dog, height at the withers 65-80 cm, weight 45-78 kg. loyal, devoted, intelligent, calm, have protective qualities with a formidable appearance and gentle character. They are non-aggressive, try to please the owner, strive to take the position of a subordinate in the family, and are easy to train. Suitable for a family with children, with whom he gets along well and allows him to do whatever he wants with him.
The price for a Leonberger puppy is 30,000 – 50,000 rubles.
The dog is an excellent swimmer and is used as a lifeguard on ponds. It takes a lot of effort and practice to quickly swim to a drowning person, save him and pull him to shore.
Or Malinois is a medium-sized dog, whose height at the withers is 58-62 cm, weight 20-30 kg. Cautious, responsible, energetic, does not show aggression, is always ready for action, and has watchdog qualities. Takes care of children, is not averse to playing with them, and is suitable for owners with an active lifestyle. Without physical activity, property will begin to deteriorate.
The price for a Belgian Shepherd puppy will be 15,000 - 40,000 rubles.
Dogs learn through play; they respond well to training; all attention is focused on the owner.
Malinois work in the mountains, rescuing people from deep snow, just like St. Bernards. Thanks to their grace and dexterity, animals find people under rubble, which helps save their lives faster.
The dog is large in size, height at withers 57-68 cm, body weight 27-32 kg. By temperament they are balanced, manageable, courageous, fast, smart, loyal, with developed hunting instincts. The companion dog gets along well with children; commands are learned quickly in the form of a game.
The average price for a puppy will be 25,000 rubles.
Found its application in the coast guard to rescue drowning people from the water. They deftly and quickly reach, rescue and deliver to a safe place.
Four-legged rescuers must be obedient, flexible, intelligent, resilient, have a strong constitution and be well socialized in society. Every rescue dog has a natural sense of smell and stamina, but efficient work specialized training is required. The animal must find people in the ruins, give a voice, inform the guide, and then lead a rescue team to the place with the victims. Hard work requires quick completion, because human life depends on it.
By choosing one of the rescue dog breeds as a pet, you will gain true friend, a caring nanny for children and an active sports partner.
It is impossible to imagine how human history would have developed if we had not had a dog - a loyal, brave, intelligent and strong friend. For thousands of years they have guarded and protected, helped in hunting and transported goods. They are the ears and eyes of those who need it. And if trouble comes, rescue dogs do everything to save the life of a stranger at any cost. What are they, our four-legged guardian angels?
A small lump that is no more than three months old. He's such a fool: he chases his own tail, clumsily jumps on the sofa, constantly tries to kiss. But already at this age you can understand whether a funny puppy will be able to become a faithful, capable and strong rescue dog, whose life is closely intertwined with the lives of people who find themselves in a terrible situation - a situation where it is almost impossible to help yourself.
During the Second World War, after the bombing of London, the four-legged rescuer Irma found seventeen people in the ruins of buildings.
One day a stranger visits the house. He has kind eyes, a gentle voice, and he smells pleasantly of something subtly familiar. How interesting and fun! For some reason, the owner is worried and keeps saying that he really wants to become a volunteer, that he admires rescue dogs who work in the mountains, on fires, rubble and in many other places, the names of which do not yet mean anything to the puppy. The stranger tells the owner about some tests. I wonder if they are as tasty as the dough? It seems that the stranger is about to play: he touches his nose, teases with a bone, claps his hands, drops a rattle on the floor, runs away and hides, invites the owner to play.
St. Bernard Barry saved four dozen people during his twelve years of service. In total, throughout the history of the breed, St. Bernards have saved the lives of thousands of people.
Just like that, at the owner’s request, the journey of two heroes begins – a rescue dog and its owner. So far this is only a small step, and there are two more to come many years teaching basic commands, training in different conditions and tests for “professional aptitude”. Of course, the fate of many puppies is determined even before birth if, for example, the baby’s parents work in the Ministry of Emergency Situations. But throughout history, rescue dogs working in tandem with their owners achieve very high results - either due to emotional attachment, or due to the amount of time the owner devotes to his pet.
A rescue dog is not just a profession, it is a noble cause to which the animal and its owner must devote a lot of time and effort. At the same time, the four-legged heroes simply do their job, without even suspecting that if it weren’t for them, there would be many more broken destinies, destroyed families and cut short lives in the world! Chief Coordinator of the Russian Canine Search and Rescue Volunteer Society “ROSSPAS-kv” Igor Voilokov told us about how such employees are trained and what difficulties await them in their work.
Animal.ru: In what areas do you train rescue dogs?
Igor Voilokov, "ROSSPAS-kv" :
We train dogs in four areas:
- search for living people (mainly children and the elderly) in the natural environment (forest, rough terrain, swamps, sparsely populated areas);
- search for living people in the man-made environment (buildings and structures destroyed as a result of explosions, man-made and natural disasters);
- search for living people as a result of avalanches and mudflows;
- search for explosives in public buildings and structures.
A: At what age can you start working with dogs?
I.V.: Preparation begins from puppyhood.
A: Is the dog trained to work with a specific person, or after training can it work with different people?
I.V. : As a rule, in Russia, a dog is trained by its owner under the guidance of an instructor. This is partly due to the fact that Russia has one of the most high levels rescue dog training.
A: To become a volunteer in your organization, do you need to be a professional dog handler or is it enough just to have experience working or communicating with a dog?
I.V.: It is not necessary to be a professional dog handler. It is enough to love your pet and sincerely want to work in this field. However, it must be borne in mind that all work on training rescue dogs and searching for living people by our organization is carried out free of charge, so to speak, at the behest of the soul. Of course, a professional dog handler can achieve faster desired result when preparing a young dog.
A: Which breeds are considered the most suitable for rescue work. Are there breeds designed for a specific type of rescue (on water, under rubble, in the mountains)?
I.V.: All breeds are good! The main thing is that the dog has a calm disposition (is socialized), has a strong constitution and mental organization. Physical endurance is also required. Sometimes you have to work in very difficult conditions, and sofa dogs may not cope.
A: What qualities must a dog have to be suitable for such service?
I.V.: The main qualities of a rescue dog: good health and endurance, a strong nervous system, socialization (good attitude towards to a stranger, absence of all types of aggression). The suitability of a puppy for such work is revealed already at the age of 1-3 months with the help of simple tests. But there are also exceptions.
A: If a dog at the training stage quite often makes mistakes and misses - does not find a person, do they continue to work with it or is it recognized as incapable of such work?
I.V.: Most often these are mistakes not of the dog, but of the dog handler. Of course, there are animals with more or less talent, everything here is like with people. The inability of a dog to find a person (this is rare) is determined by special tests before the start of training.
A: The canine department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations has developed standards for this service, what are they? And do dogs undergo periodic certification?
I.V.: Of course, all volunteer dogs undergo annual state certification for classes “A” and “B”, just like dogs of professional rescuers, without concessions!
The list of standards and requirements is very extensive! First of all, this is a certain search time, finding all conditionally affected (bookmarks), and most importantly - the absence of false designations, for this disqualification!!! I hope there is no need to explain what a false designation may mean in real extensive rubble after an earthquake! To get a living person out of a rubble requires colossal efforts and resources, and if you dig in vain, then somewhere a person waiting for help may die.
A: Under what conditions are dogs trained to search for people in uninhabited areas trained?
I.V.: The conditions are always close to the real ones. We conduct search analytics in a real situation, study errors and focus the attention of volunteers on them, improve search tactics and strategy. We often conduct training together with the structures of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (Tsentrospas, Mosoblspas), with European search and rescue organizations both in Russia and in Europe.
A: Are there competitions in your organization?
I.V.: There are internal and open ones. Professional dog handlers from Russia and Europe are invited to attend. As a rule, they are equivalent to state certification.
I.V.: Yes, of course. Our crews participated in the search for living people during the collapse of buildings on Sadovnicheskaya Embankment in Moscow, where 9 people were rescued from the rubble, and during the collapse of a house on Starokonyushenny Lane. And also during the notorious terrorist attack in 1999, when a residential building was blown up on Guryanov Street.
A: Previously, St. Bernards were mainly used to search for missing people in the mountains, but what breeds are used more often for this today?
I.V.: Probably, modern St. Bernards have degenerated for this matter. All pedigree and mongrel dogs are suitable.
A: When searching on an ordinary horizontal surface, the animal uses its sense of smell, but what if in the mountains a person simply fell and was caught in an avalanche? Indeed, in such a situation the thread of smell is interrupted.
I.V.: Nothing is interrupted! A dog’s ability to detect the smell of a living person is colossal and has not been fully studied! Experienced old dog handlers even talk about a sixth sense!
A: When you need to get to places that are inaccessible to humans, can you count on the intelligence and resourcefulness of a dog and let it go alone to help the victim?
I.V.: This is included in the mandatory training program for a rescue dog. Of course, there is no need to humanize even the most talented dog! Unfortunately, the dog cannot apply a sterile bandage or stop the bleeding... Its main task is to detect a person! And then there’s the matter of human rescuers! Believe me, if a person is found alive, everything possible will be done to help him.
A: What jobs are water lifeguards used for besides beaches?
I.V.: Dogs are not used en masse to rescue drowning people. Of course, a large animal can tow a drowning child to shore, provided that the child is trained to behave correctly in the water in a critical situation. But a dog cannot physically pull out an adult person or someone who has already drunk too much water. Have you ever tried to pull a drowning person out of the water yourself? I personally tried it, and, believe me, without stunning the latter, this is very, very problematic... Our organization specializes in finding living people!
A: What happens to such animals when they retire or after they lose their working qualities, because they don’t have owners as such?
I.V.: Our dogs have owners!!! They live quietly in honor, respect and love, setting good examples for young dogs.
A: Tell us about the most legendary rescue dogs
I.V.: There are enough cases from the modern period, and this is no less than 15 years, and they are all unique and border on something unreal.
It all started with my Giant Schnauzer dog named Green. I am sure he is well remembered by those who needed his help or simply knew him. Let me just say that he worked to find living people up to 13 years of age inclusive (by dog standards, the age is very impressive; translated into human terms, it means almost 90!) At the age of 6, Green was the leader of the only team of Giant Schnauzer and took 2nd place in the Russian Two-Day Championship dog sled racing.
For a rescue dog, saving human lives is not a feat, but just a job. Often the search for a missing person in the natural environment lasts several days, and the news that he has not yet been found is not always negative!!! This means he is probably alive and able to move! The search ends either with a direct discovery or positive news of his presence in a safe place. Therefore, the direct presence of a person in the natural environment indicates that the person was deprived of the ability to move (injury, illness or frightened children). By the way, when a signal is received about missing children, almost all crews flock to the call, and we have about 50 of them in Moscow alone!
A noteworthy case is that of our volunteer Natasha Krestinina and her shepherd Taina. It should be noted that during training this calculation was no different from others. But! In just a year of working on real calls, Natasha had two direct locations and provided first aid to victims. These are actually two human lives saved.
A: Tell me, does your organization receive help from any influential structures or sponsors?
I.V.: Currently, we do not have a single sponsor or other material and technical support, but we are always open to cooperation and continue to look for sponsors.
We would like to thank Igor Voilokov, Chief Coordinator of the Russian Canine Search and Rescue Volunteer Society “ROSSPAS-kv” for the interview and the provided photo materials.
Devoted to humans, representatives of the canine family by nature are called upon to serve their owners in exchange for their warmth, care and affection. This has been the case since the times when a wild animal, similar and about the size of a bird, relentlessly followed the primitive hunter to feast on scraps from his prey.
And as he received tidbits, he became more and more useful to him, clearing people’s homes of food debris, freeing the environment from the disgusting smell of rot.
The descendants of the tamed animal, becoming attached to their owners with each generation, gradually took on the appearance and acquired the features of modern dogs. Millennia have passed. Since then earlier wild dogs have proven themselves not only to be loyal allies, but also to be hardy, strong guardian angels. This is how the first ones appeared rescue dogs.
Using the four-legged servant, at first, to successfully hunt wild animals, the ancient people, seeking safety and comfort, over time found other uses for the domesticated animal. scared away uninvited guests, licked the owner's wounds and warmed him with the warmth of their bodies in severe frosts.
Later, representatives of human civilization became cattle breeders and farmers, but the descendants of wolves continued life together and brought more and more benefits. And dogs were easily used, because they played the role of shepherds, guards and faithful companions.
In the photo there is a rescue dog of the German Shepherd breed
Small dogs are perfect for searching for people in rubble after earthquakes and during fires, as they have an excellent sense of smell and can crawl through even narrow crevices. They are hardy, efficient, and foreign odors are not a hindrance for them in searching for a target.
The best water rescue dogs are rightfully considered to bear the well-deserved name “divers”. They are resistant to cold and feel great even in icy water.
The membranes between their paws and the structure of their ears and eyes allow them to swim tens of kilometers tirelessly and dive to great depths. They, without hesitation, rush into the water in the blink of an eye even at the slightest suspicion that a person is drowning.
In the photo there is a Newfoundland dog “diver”
The retriever is a very hardy dog, extremely smart, easy to train and obedient. Such dogs not only serve as rescuers, but also as guide dogs.
Labrador rescue dog
They specialize in searching for people in difficult conditions, helping in emergency situations. – service dogs and wonderful sappers. There are many other breeds with amazing rescue qualities.
Today, like many centuries ago, man and dog need each other. There are many known cases when rescuers saved the dog, abandoned for various reasons and becoming an unnecessary burden for the owner.
And such dogs, in turn, successfully trained and carried out many years of dedicated service, bringing a variety of people back to life, becoming talented rescuers, receiving medals and awards.
Doberman rescue dog
Rescue dog training
Rescue dog training requires patience and understanding from the owner. And successful learning from animals requires obedience and patient work to develop technical skills in searching, detecting and rescuing people. Four-legged warriors are taught to overcome obstacles, climb stairs, and also develop skills for safe movement among the ruins.
There are many areas of study. The guide also has to learn how to provide first aid to victims and how to use a map and compass. He learns the rules of behavior and learns to quickly assess the situation at the scene of a disaster. And during the training course, an annual exam is taken.
The rescue dog's execution of commands becomes automatic with a gradual transition from simple to complex. And soon the acquired skills turn into conditioned reflex. Behavioral techniques are first developed and then reinforced in accordance with strict training rules.
The remarkable sense of smell and amazing endurance of thoroughbreds, which they inherited from nature and as a result of thousands of years of artificial selection, are not the only qualities that four-legged rescuers should have.
Specially trained dogs learn to use their voices to signal people when searching for victims and detecting suspicious odors. And it's not that simple. First of all, it is necessary that the animal is properly socialized, even if it has a good-natured disposition and easy-going nature.
What can a rescue dog do?
Bloodhounds specialize in finding missing people and rescuing them in critical situations. They are required to perform perfectly, even in pitch darkness and bad weather, in short term search various territories, including moving over rough terrain; carry out searches in rubble and ruins resulting from dam breaks, fires, explosions due to gas leaks, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
A rescue dog must be able to work without a collar and leash in difficult terrain, equipped with special devices. A trained animal cannot be afraid of the smell of gas, fire and smoke, or react to noise.
To search for drowned people, brave dogs need to be able to act independently, moving by swimming; and also, while in a boat with people, locate victims under water.
Natural strength, a strong physique and physical fitness are also extremely important. A rescue dog should not be embarrassed by frosts and unbearable heat, extreme stressful situations and psychological stress associated with people's suffering and grief.
It is unlikely that dogs, desperately rushing into water or fire to save a person, think about any rewards. Animals are completely devoid of vanity. Therefore, such dogs are real heroes.
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Hero's Journey
History knows many examples of dogs rescuing people from trouble on their own impulse. People realized that such qualities of dogs as loyalty, courage, sacrifice can serve to save more than one human life. So the dogs got a job: “rescuer”. And the emergency services have unique assistants, dedicated and reliable.
However, the first rescue dog appeared long before the Ministry of Emergency Situations. We know her name - Barry, her breed - St. Bernard. And its history, which is already more than two hundred years old and which, from generation to generation, was passed on by French monks.
Barry was raised at the monastery along with other rescue dogs whose duties included searching for lost strays. Every morning, the monks fastened a barrel of brandy around the neck of each of the four-legged rescuers and sent them off in search of the poor fellows.
Barry has saved dozens of lives of people who could have died on a deserted road in a snowstorm. But they survived, having met someone in Barry who, at a critical moment, gave them a sip of a warming drink and brought them under the roof of a hospitable monastic cell.
Even exact information has been preserved about the number of lives Barry saved: 40. Among them is the life of a child. Barry found him in the Alpine mountains, under the thickness of the snow of an avalanche. He warmed the half-frozen baby with his body and licked his face until he woke up.
Barry's fate is tragic. He was wounded by a man who, in the dark, mistook a huge shaggy dog for a bear. Barry survived, but his career was over. He could no longer perform his job as a lifeguard.
Any resident of a modern suburb of Paris will willingly show a visitor a stone with a carved image - a monument to the legendary rescue dog Barry.
Monument to Barry in the suburbs of Paris
Rescue dog skills
Despite the fact that today rescue dogs work alongside equally heroic people, no one calls them rescue assistants. After all, each such dog is an independent unit. And it’s rare for human rescuers to save as many lives as their four-legged counterparts.
After all, nature itself has given dogs unique, almost mystical abilities:
- find people buried alive at a depth of up to 9 meters;
- find victims by smell even in a fire, when the strong smell of burning interferes with this.
The search work that takes twenty people 4 hours can be completed in 10 minutes by a trained dog!
Nature has endowed dogs with intelligence, endurance, strength, and adaptability to adverse weather conditions.
And people, having selected the best of them, raise rescue dogs capable of:
- report the location of victims;
- lead people to the location of the victims.
The video for the program “Morning with You” talks about how rescue dogs are raised.
Fire, water and copper pipes
During the Great Patriotic War they were not only military. They not only blew up trains and delivered cartridges and secret papers, making their way where not a single person would go. They were orderlies on the battlefield. - with a canvas bag with medicines and stretchers, on which they pulled seriously wounded soldiers out of the heat.
One of them, a nurse named Mukhtar, is responsible for more than four hundred wounded soldiers pulled from the battlefield. The total number of wounded people found by four-legged orderlies during the Great Patriotic War is 500 thousand people!
In the post-war years, many dogs became, so to speak, unofficial healers of the souls of surviving soldiers. But there are also qualified therapy dogs. They help former military personnel overcome post-traumatic stress disorder. One of the most famous is a dog named Ricochet.
This Golden Retriever also works with children who have emotional problems or chronic illnesses. He... teaches them how to surf. By developing a taste for life in children, Ricochet restores their mental and physical health.
Special programs to help children with severe autism include working with young rescue dog patients. Dogotherapy is the name of a very effective method of treating complex diseases in children.
Friendly, cheerful and active, dogs help children socialize. Four-legged healers also help create a favorable emotional background in the treatment of emotional disorders, severe forms chronic diseases psychosomatic in nature.
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Avalanches, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, man-made accidents - the destruction and losses they entail are enormous. But they would have been large if not for the heroic work of special services and rescue dogs. Most often these are German Shepherds. Animals of this particular breed adapt to extreme conditions more easily than others.
The work of searching for missing skiers and climbers is entrusted to St. Bernards. Much less often, dogs of other breeds are used in avalanche searches. Among these breeds is the same German Shepherd. A dog of this breed named Ajax became famous.
In facts and figures, his feat can be described succinctly: 96 hours continuous operation, frostbitten paws, 12 lives saved. Hero of Dachstein - this is how Ajax is now called in Austria, where this battle between a dog and the elements took place for the lives of eleven children and one schoolteacher.
In the Alpine rocks, a dog named Titus saved his owner at the risk of starvation. Titus found his owner on the top of a cliff and dug him out from under the thick snow. For six long days the shepherd dog did not eat anything, keeping watch near his owner who was in trouble and warming him with the warmth of his body. A special group of human rescuers rescued both the climber and his devoted dog from snow captivity.
For fifty recent years two dozen natural disasters were recorded, about which dogs warned their owners in one way or another. Thus, an earthquake in Ashgabat in one of the families was predicted by the “irrational” behavior of a shepherd dog, as the owners regarded it at first. A few minutes before the house collapsed, the dog managed to drag the sleeping child outside, grabbing him by the hem of his nightgown.
The name of the rescue dog Balta, who delivered medicines to a village in Alaska that saved hundreds of children from diphtheria, has become a legend.
At a time when fire crews rode horses to extinguish fires, rescue dogs (these were Dalmatians) worked alongside the draft force. They had a calming effect on horses who were terrified of fire. The dogs ran in front of the horse team, clearing and showing the way. This allowed firefighters to get to the scene without delay. Today, when horses have been replaced by fire engines, these dogs in their homeland are living mascots of fire crews.
In the water element the most effective assistance Newfoundlands and Leonbergers can help. The training that rescue dogs receive in specialized centers lasts about a year.
Up to four people a day have to be found by rescue dogs working in the forests of the Moscow region. Inexperienced mushroom pickers, overplayed children, people with not very good navigation skills get lost 40 minutes from the capital. And this happens regularly, even despite cellular communications.
According to stories from volunteers working with rescue dogs in the forest, a person can walk a few meters from a lost person without noticing him. This happens when the search is delayed, the missing person is exhausted, or even lost consciousness.
Rescue dogs can smell someone lost in the forest long before humans can. In this they are helped by their excellent sense of smell and ability to make their way through thickets better than humans. Having discovered a lost person, rescue dogs signal to the search party.
Breeds of four-legged rescuers
Rescue dogs can be any breed. But there are among them more capable of this work. What dog breeds are most often exploited by rescue services?
- Diver (Newfoundland);
- Doberman;
- Drathaar;
- Labrador Retriever;
- Leonberger;
- German Shepherd;
- Rottweiler;
- Saint Bernard;
- Spaniel.
The spaniel was a dog named Lenya, who at the age of one saved 18 people from the rubble formed during the 1995 Sakhalin earthquake.
If in the mountains the abilities of German shepherds and St. Bernards are used, then divers specialize in rescuing drowning people. The latter are able to swim in very cold and even icy water! Their diving abilities are amazing: Newfoundlands dive to a depth of a good three dozen meters!
Let us note that Labradors, Rottweilers and Shepherds also make excellent specialists in a related profession – guide dogs.
Photo gallery
Video “Hero of Russia Yelga”
The video for the program “Such a Life” talks about a dog awarded the title of four-legged Hero of the country.
